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Friday, April 27, 2012

The book Fire Men started as nothing more than wanting to record some of the experiences that my father and I had in the fire service and which my son Michael was starting to have. Writing of one incident often brought back memories of others and the list of individual stories of calls grew. After I had a hundred plus pages, it became clear that there was more than a pile of vignettes—there was a book there trying to get out. The writing was cathartic as well. It made me smile and laugh and took me back to less pleasant experiences—some still painful to recall even with the passage of time.

Eventually, a so-called first draft was complete and some friends encouraged me to try to obtain an agent and the querying process began. Lightning struck with surprising quickness and a young agent from a large New York City firm agreed to work with me. I know now this was an incredible stroke of luck as the manuscript wasn’t remotely ready. She provided great feedback and suggestions as I worked my way through a second draft. This revision much improved the book and she offered more suggestions to help fine tune the work.

The manuscript was one final pass from the point at which she was planning to send it to some editors she believed would be interested when calamity, at least for me, struck hard. My agent accepted a position as an editor at a big six house, which orphaned me. Yes, she passed the manuscript to another agent at her firm, but he wasn’t interested, and so two years after the start, the query roller coaster began running again. This time I decided to widen my view and include some of the fine small publishers in the business as well.

After a period of ups and downs with manuscript requests and rejections, a yes came in the door from a wonderful publisher, Nicole Langan of Tribute Books (www.tribute-books.com). Her assistance and guidance through the final edits was invaluable. The cover and artwork she and her staff designed was beyond my wildest expectations. At the release and continuing now, she has been a great cheerleader; helping to push the book in conventional and unconventional ways. With a huge social media presence, she has been a tremendous teacher in how to use this medium.

Doing events and book signings has resulted in new friends and opportunities to re-connect with old ones. As much fun as the whole experience has been, I will never forget holding that first printed copy in my hand.

--Gary Ryman
April 2012

Gary Ryman is the middle of three generations of firefighters or the center of the Oreo. His book Fire Men: Stories from Three Generations of a Firefighting Family is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com in paperback as well as in all eBook formats. Visit www.fire-men-book for more information.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

1. Which of your characters is your favorite?I’d have to say Blade, hands down. The character was heavily inspired by Errol Flynn. Flynn was a bit of a real-life adventurer who didn’t take his movie hero role too seriously, once abandoning Hollywood to fight in the Spanish Civil War. When I created Blade in 1984, the recently re-released My Wicked, Wicked Ways was a popular school bus read. In the years since, he has evolved from a tongue-in-cheek homage to Errol Flynn into a character whose depth and self-effacing humor never fail to bring a flutter to my heart or a smile to my lips.

2. Tell me about your travels.
3. Coffee, tea, or milk?

4. What else can you do besides write?I started out with the idea of pursuing acting, but I got distracted by the behind-the-scenes stuff of film and television. I spent twelve years with dual careers as a freelance writer and working technical positions for television crews doing audio, utility, stage manager. I ran audio for bands. I hired television crew for remote shoots. I trained public speakers. I wrote and designed multimedia productions, dabbled in graphic arts. I even started my own magazine many, many years ago. That’s just part of my professional resume! If I listed my hobbies we’d be here all day!

5. Who are you reading right now?

6. Pop culture or academia?A mix of both. I’m not into reality television or the singing or dancing shows, but I do enjoy good sci-fi and certain sit-coms and dramedies like Big Bang Theory and Castle. Actually, I got into Castle before Firefly, if you can believe that! I do love to heckle the theoretical physicists who show up on my TV screen and espouse unproven scientific theory as gospel, while pooh-poohing former scientific gospel as busted myths.

7. What is the toughest scene you ever wrote?
8. Where do you find your inspirations to write?
9. Food you could eat everyday.
10. Are you into sports or other physical activities?

12. Do you outline your stories or do they just take you along for the ride?

13. Celebrity crush.Blade Devon. No, seriously, I don’t really crush on celebs anymore. After working in television for a number of years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work closely with a lot of celebrity crushes, only to end up disillusioned and disappointed in many cases. There have been a few exceptions, though. I think it’s my disenchantment with the idea of celebrity that inspired me to make Blade a celebrity. I’ve worked with celebs at all stages of their careers, occasionally, the same celebs at different stages, and there seems to be a predictable cycle that fame follows. I find that cycle and its effect on the people caught in it more fascinating that the celebrities themselves.

4. Who are the biggest influences on your work?

15. Do you still watch cartoons?Of course! I have small children! They provide the BEST excuse to watch cartoons! My husband and I have introduced our children to the wonderful world of classic Looney Tunes and passed on our appreciation of Yosemite Sam and the Tasmanian Devil.

Thank you so much for hosting me today Heidi, and letting me take part in your PICK SIX! This has been a hoot and a half!

JC Cassels, a native of Tampa, Florida, traces her lifelong fascination with SF/Adventure to watching Star Trek on a tiny black and white portable television aboard the family boat as a child. The Space Opera trend that followed the release of Star Wars fed an obsessive need for swashbuckling adventure set in deep space. Today, JC feeds that need by writing her own adventures, heavily inspired by 1960's television shows like Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and Wild Wild West and fueled by Firefly reruns.

When not writing in her haunted hospital, JC lives with her husband, three children, five dogs, twenty chickens and a horse in a century-old house in a tiny rural community, and enjoys spending her free time sewing, camping, and heckling theoretical physicists on the Science Channel.

GIVEAWAY:
One lucky reader commenting on this post will be chosen at random for a FREE e-book copy of SOVRAN’S PAWN.

DESCRIPTION OFSovran's Pawn:
BO BARRON is the pawn in two Sovrans’ struggle for power. As the Chief of Barron Clan she commands the Black Wing, a strategic asset crucial to the balance of power in a Commonwealth in contention. That’s the reason she was falsely convicted of treason and sentenced to be executed. Instead of letting her meekly go to her death, Bo’s people risk all-out war by breaking her out and smuggling her into hiding. It’s what they do. They’re pirates at heart.

But if she can’t be killed, she can be manipulated. How? By kidnapping her father. If Bo wants him back she has to take on a false name and steal the schematics for a phase weapon being auctioned off to the Sub-socia at a Five Point tournament.

BLADE DEVON knows all about false names. He has more than his share. As Darien Roarke, he’s a well-known Five-Point player. If Blade is willing to use his alter ego to retrieve those schematics, the Inner Circle is willing to overlook the fact that he’s technically a deserter.

A botched assassination under the guise of a bar brawl leaves Bo blind and Blade wondering if there isn’t more to this job than he was led to believe. Never able to resist playing the hero, Blade tends her injuries and delves deeper into the intrigue only to find this mission isn’t about a weapon at all.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

This week I'll be featuring the debut authors from Grit City Publications (GCP), an independent publishing group of emotobooks, the first fiction medium designed exclusively for tablets. Our creative teams immerse our fans in the thick tapestries of amazing stories and visualized character emotions. This winning combination of fiction and art enraptures the soul, and proves: Emotobooks are not a pastime; they’re a way of life.

1. Which of your characters is your favorite?Alida Beretta. She's the heroine of my "Guardian" series, which by and large is about a team of superhumans (à la Avengers, X-Men, Misfits) operating in a corrupt, pulpy world (à la RockNRolla, Kill Bill, Grindhouse). Alida’s powers are flight, provided by a set of wings, and absolute naiveté, provided by a childhood growing up white in a small, affluent town in middle America. Alida is vaguely aware that she’s in an adventure series, but expects an experience akin to Harry Potter or Twilight. Instead, she gets blood, brains and bulletholes. It’s bizarrely fun to watch a young woman who expected magical adventures dealing with a meth-addict ex-boyfriend. Her life turned out to be radically different than what she’d planned for. In a weird way, I think people can identify with that.

2. Tell me about your travels.
3. Coffee, tea, or milk?

4. What else can you do besides write?It’s a short list… I can sleep, masturbate, wander the earth and fail at things. I’m trying to learn French…

5. Who are you reading right now?I saw Kevin Smith (director of Clerks, Dogma, Chasing Amy, Red State) speak at a Q&A the other night, and I picked up an autographed copy of his new book, “Tough Shit.” I’m about halfway through, and if you’re interested in learning about Miramax, the Weinsteins, Sundance and indie cinema in the 90s, it’s a must read. If you want to continue living in a world where Bruce Willis seems like a cool guy to hang out with, don’t touch it. I’m also re-reading Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions and I just bought a copy of John le Carré’s The Secret Pilgrim.

6. Pop culture or academia?
7. What is the toughest scene you ever wrote?
8. Where do you find your inspirations to write?
9. Food you could eat everyday.

10. Are you into sports or other physical activities?I used to run, but I don’t have the time anymore. I miss it. I miss the release. I remember when I ran a marathon a few years back. Afterwards, my cousin picked me up and I just collapsed on her couch for over an hour. The endorphins kicked in, and it was like everything I hated about my past was burning. That’s the highest I’ve felt in my life.

11. What kind of music speaks to you?
12. Do you outline your stories or do they just take you along for the ride?

13. Celebrity crush.Ellen Page. She is an absolute dream. My favorite performance of hers is in this indie flick called "Super."

"Internal bleeding bitch!" she screams, crushing a drug lord between a brick wall and the front end of her station wagon. "You get it then you die!" Oh, how I swooned.

If I were gay, I’d pick Brad Pitt circa 1996. Not that you asked, but now it’s in your head forever.

DESCRIPTION FORSuburbians:
When a young teenager named Nate releases a lifetime of ingrained racist contempt in what should have been a harmless encounter, the aftermath of blood dripping from his fingers becomes the least of his problems.

After a typical boy’s day of roughhousing and exploration, Nate and his friends believe that this day will end like any other. Instead, their parents’ prejudices become their own, as a jolt of adrenaline catapults this motley crew from adolescent bullying into the darkness of bloody murder.

Faced with the consequences of their actions, terror replaces rational thought. The boys embark on a journey to cover up their crime and face a number of challenges that push them to the brink of sanity. Local bullies, a gas station clerk, and eventually the police test their fragile bonds of friendship.

Suburbians is a heart-thumping EmotoSingle thriller, full of twists and turns that thrust us into the darkest side of teenage hatred and rebellion. Nate’s ability to feel hope and peace may be forever lost, along with his youth.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

This week I'll be featuring the debut authors from Grit City Publications (GCP), an independent publishing group of emotobooks, the first fiction medium designed exclusively for tablets. Our creative teams immerse our fans in the thick tapestries of amazing stories and visualized character emotions. This winning combination of fiction and art enraptures the soul, and proves: Emotobooks are not a pastime; they’re a way of life.

1. Which of your characters is your favorite? Swing Zone has a really large cast of characters, so it's hard to pick just one, but my bad boys get a lot of love from me in my serials. I don't think I can write a book that doesn't have at least one or two really underhanded people in them. There's something deliciously fun in writing intelligent, cunning men, especially when they're up to no good.

2. Tell me about your travels.I once drove coast to coast on I-40 alone. Having never been further west than Philly, that was an amazing experience. I think my eyes watered a dozen times on that trip. Photographs don’t do dimensions justice, so I found myself a little overwhelmed the first time I saw mountains and the desert. There really is a feeling of immense freedom when you're on the open road. For a writer, it's like a vast visual display of possibilities. Every little town I passed had me wondering what life must be like there. Location has so much to do with your fate. It alone can be the difference between hard luck and happiness. That thought has always intrigued me.

3. Coffee, tea, or milk?
4. What else can you do besides write?
5. Who are you reading right now?

6. Pop culture or academia?I'm a net culture person, which seems to fall somewhere between the two. One minute you're on a site reading about particle physics and the next minute you're watching a video of a cat barking. I love that combination. Being highly creative and fiercely adverse to structure, I never did well in classrooms, but the net invites free and independent exploration, allowing me to learn more than I ever could have in school, and in between that...there’s rage comics, trololo and nomnoms. Digital pop culture at it’s finest!

7. What is the toughest scene you ever wrote?I had to write a fist fight for one of my novels, and I ended up enlisting the help of a friend in theater who choreographed it for me. I learned a lot from him about how the body and mind reacts in a fight and how to show both swings and results. Otherwise, it probably would have been two guys shoving each other's shoulders. I...didn’t have a lot of experience with fights.

8. Where do you find your inspirations to write?
9. Food you could eat everyday.
10. Are you into sports or other physical activities?
11. What kind of music speaks to you?

12. Do you outline your stories or do they just take you along for the ride?Both, really. I start with good characters and a vague outline and work the story back and forth like an acrostic puzzle until all the pieces fit. Characters do try to dictate the direction of my stories, but since drama and adventure always comes first in serials, they don't always get their way. If there's a dark spooky cave, you're going in it despite all sensibilities. No serial writer is going to listen to a character saying, "I don't think I should walk too close to the edge of that cliff."

13. Celebrity crush.Oh gosh...Colin Firth. I've loved him ever since he played Darcy in the mini series version of Pride and Prejudice. I got to meet him while he was here in Durham working on 'Main Street.' Incredible actor. Gorgeous man. Well worth wasting one of my questions on! I’ve also been in love with Joanna Lumley for the past twenty years, so I’ll put her down as my girl crush.

14. Who are the biggest influences on your work?
15. Do you still watch cartoons?

DESCRIPTION OFSwing Zone:
In the year 2229, cash starved prospector Mia Blancharde uncovers a valuable relic while digging in the Swing Zone, a wild, forested area between two contemptuous post-apocalyptic cities.

Mia’s archeological find forces her to challenge the status quo, which places her in the middle of a larger conflict. On one side is her brother, Colonel Zavier Blancharde in her home city of Freedale, the seat of militaristic power and technology. On the other side, Coltis Lawson is an attractive archeology enthusiast in the rural community of Lakeside. His almost magical abilities confuse Mia's loyalties, as she finds herself unwittingly falling for a man who embodies a principled, but duplicitous nature.

A delicate accord between the two cities has ensured a peaceful coexistence, but tensions rise as renegade activists from Lakeside challenge the powers of Freedale. Impassioned blows of battle always appear on the horizon, which threaten to crush all hopes of a maintained peace.

Torn between the powers of love, her family, and her city, Mia must uncover the truth and avoid getting trapped on the wrong side of a perilous line.

Monday, April 23, 2012

This week I'll be featuring the debut authors from Grit City Publications (GCP), an independent publishing group of emotobooks, the first fiction medium designed exclusively for tablets. Our creative teams immerse our fans in the thick tapestries of amazing stories and visualized character emotions. This winning combination of fiction and art enraptures the soul, and proves: Emotobooks are not a pastime; they’re a way of life.

With all the new technological advances made in the past few years, many new authors have been able to make the decision to be published. They just have to do it themselves.

Three years ago, that’s what happened to three writers in a small café off the coast of Maine, and the Greater Portland Scribists were born. We worked over the next year to prepare our best work for publication in our new group’s first ever anthology. Our reasoning was that the current ebook craze was too good to miss out on, and we wanted to get our foot in that door while it was still fresh. A year later Scribings Vol. 1 hit the stores. And each of us has valuable experience in all the facets of producing a book.

Grit City EmotoBooks are all fast-paced, imagery-heavy short stories or serial novels. Added to this basic form, abstract art is placed at emotional peaks in the story. This is what really makes the EmotoBook a revolutionary form of modern electronic fiction. I am proud to be a part of a process that combines my two biggest obsessions, writing and art, into a new form.

My key philosophy in writing is to stay busy. I have three more stories geared toward anthologies, including a Scribings Vol 2, coming out later this year. As I build my backlist of stories, I’m also building worlds that tie together across multiple volumes. I hope to keep them all alive the more I "stay busy," and someday in novels.

--Cynthia Ravinski
April 2012

Cynthia Ravinski writes, among other things. From her coastal northern setting, she crafts stories in impossible worlds and dreams up crafty characters to occupy them. She’s been an athlete, a co-pilot, a world traveler, and she’s basked in the light of great poets. She’s been educated to high degrees at UMaine Farmington and Seton Hill University. To say she is obsessed with drinking tea is an understatement.

DESCRIPTION OF Lingering in the Woods:
Can a shaman save the soul of a demon’s spawn in order to protect his tribe and save himself from exile? In this EmotoSingle fantasy of Finnish lore, what begins as a journey for Chrigle to win his place among the tribe quickly turns into a test of will and sacrifice.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

For the next two weeks I'll be featuring authors from the cutting edge Raw Dog Screaming Press! Founded in August 2003, RDSP books are entertaining and thought-provoking and span the gamut from surreal and absurd to horror, sci-fi and fantasy.

The Gorelets Omnibus is a "collected works" volume of all my twisted horror poems from gorelets.com and elsewhere over the past decade. I'm proud of the book, which includes not only hundreds of pages of short-short horror poetry (reminiscent of the flash fiction from another of my Raw Dog books, 100 Jolts), but also -- available only in the special hardcover edition -- a variety of miscellaneous pieces that should inspire anyone who is interested in writing dark fiction or adding a little strangeness to their work.

For instance, there are five articles written by scholars from America and the UK, analyzing what makes the poems tick and what makes today's "new media" horror special. There is also a collection of "how to" articles on the crafting of horror poetry that I've published over the years. And -- perhaps best of all for the creative writers reading this -- this book includes the entire collection of my "Instigation" prompts from over the past ten years (including the impossible to find Instigation columns from Hellnotes magazine from years ago).

In other words, the hardcover edition of this book hides a short-course from me in writing horror. If you're a horror/mystery/dark fantasy author, I think this book will prompt your dark imagination in ways you might appreciate, even if you have no interest in poetry. (Though look out, future Poes and Lovecrafts -- this collection might change your mind!)

Over the past two decades, Michael A. Arnzen has won five Bram Stoker Awards for his avant horror fiction, his quirky dark poetry and his bizarro antics online at gorelets.com. His other titles from Raw Dog Screaming Press include a novel (Play Dead), a collection of flash fiction (100 Jolts: Shockingly Short Stories), a CD of musically-enhanced readings (Audiovile) and, forthcoming, a scholarly study of dread in pop culture (The Popular Uncanny). When he's not writing, Arnzen wears the mask of professor of English at Seton Hill University, home of the country's only MFA degree in Writing Popular Fiction. Get gored again and again at gorelets.com or join his social network at michaelarnzen.com.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

For the next two weeks I'll be featuring authors from the cutting edge Raw Dog Screaming Press! Founded in August 2003, RDSP books are entertaining and thought-provoking and span the gamut from surreal and absurd to horror, sci-fi and fantasy.

DESCRIPTION: Kenrick Brimley, the state prison's official gigolo, hangs over a lava pit on trial for his life in a strange land. He will reveal the course of his life one misguided step at a time for his captors. From his romance with serial arsonist Leena Manasseh to his lurid angst-affair with a lesbian music diva, from his ascendance as unlikely pop icon to otherworldly encounters, the one constant truth is that he's got no clue what he's doing. As unrelenting as it is original, Last Burn in Hell is John Edward Lawson at his most scorching intensity, serving up sexy satire and postmodern pulp with his trademark day-glow prose. Presented in Lawson's "book as DVD" format the Director's Cut includes: deleted scenes, alternate ending, photo stills, remastering for more enjoyable viewing, and more!

CHARACTERS:

Christian Bale as KENRICK BRIMLEY
Kenrick convinces himself he "just goes with the flow" but-despite good intentions--actively makes choices that lead to chaos and violence at every turn.

Joanie "Chyna" Laurer as LEENA MANASSEH
Like the fire she so enjoys playing with, Leena's affections flicker with the slightest breeze, even if she is the one person willing to accept Kenrick for what he is.

Alicia Witt as NIKKI
Aloof, spoiled, a legend in her own mind--and that's on this pop diva's good days, much less when her secrets are about to be revealed.

Selena Gomez as JUANITA DIAZ
The one person in Kenrick's life without a hidden agenda, just anger from a lifetime of damage.

Todd Stashwick as C.O. RITCHIE
Inmates are below his notice, but something about Kenrick's status makes Ritchie want to play nemesis every chance he gets.

Jay Tavare as ENRIQUE OLAZÁBAL
Scorpion smuggler? CIA operative? Best friend? Enrique has almost as much fun changing hats as he does getting shot at.

John Edward Lawson has published fifteen books and hundreds of works in anthologies, magazines, newspapers, and literary journals worldwide. He is a winner of the Fiction International Emerging Writers Competition; other nominations include the Bram Stoker Award, two for the the Dwarf Stars Award, the Pushcart Prize, two for the Rhysling Award, and the Wonderland Award. As a freelance editor he has worked for Raw Dog Screaming Press, Double Dragon Publishing, and National Lampoon among others, has edited seven anthologies, and served as editor-in-chief for The Dream People. He lives near Washington, DC with his wife and son.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

For the next two weeks I'll be featuring authors from the cutting edge Raw Dog Screaming Press! Founded in August 2003, RDSP books are entertaining and thought-provoking and span the gamut from surreal and absurd to horror, sci-fi and fantasy.

DESCRIPTION: In the wake of the Stick Figure War, civilization lapsed into obscurity. Fallout ravaged the fabric of space and time. History digested reality and reality exhumed the future as survivors tried and failed to create a new beginning . . . Amid the chaos, one man experiences a terminal affliction, a revolution of the self: the chronic transformation into the city of Kyoto, Japan. Each transformation further plunges the world into darkness, but he’s helpless against the lethal clockwork of his body, his psyche, his mindscreens—and nothing, not even Fate itself, can stop him from becoming God . . . In the third and final installment of the Scikungfi trilogy after Dr. Identity and Codename Prague, acclaimed author D. Harlan Wilson composes a narrative grindhouse that combines elements of science fiction and horror with pop culture and literary theory. Erudite, ultraviolent, and riotously satirical, The Kyoto Man reminds us how, at every turn, reality is shaped by the forces that destroy it.

CHARACTERS:

Crispin Glover as THE KYOTO MAN

The titular protagonist/antagonist, The Kyoto Man incites a global apocalypse, transforming from man into city over 10,000 times and terminally rupturing the fabric of the spacetime continuum.

Crispin Glover should probably be the main character in all of my novels with the exception of Blankety Blank: A Memoir of Vulgaria, the protagonist of which was inspired by professional wrestling manager Bobby “the Brain” Heenan. In the case of The Kyoto Man, I don’t want the Glover from Back to the Future or the Charlie’s Angels films, but rather a curious hybrid of the one from River’s Edge, Bartleby, Willard and Beowulf. Emotionally and psychologically, anyway. Corporeally: Glover is a perfect match for The Kyoto Man – pallid but attractive, skinny but powerful, stochastic but predictable – a body composed of weird angles and elusive energy.

Sam Waterston as THE THERAPIST

Throughout the novel, The Therapist attempts to “cure” The Kyoto Man of an hysterical disorder that may or may not be an hysterical disorder.

For the role, Waterson must grow a white beard, pack on at least 100 lbs. of muscle (located mainly in the chest region), and cultivate better-than-Keanu expertise in the martial arts.

Kris Kristofferson as JACK NIGHTRANGER

Jack Nightranger is the bounty hunter contracted to hunt down The Kyoto Man.

Acceptable Kristoffersons include anybody before Big Top Pee-Wee and preferably the Kristofferson from Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.

Richard Kline as DICK DALLAS

Dick Dallas is Nightranger’s hard-drinking, girl-hungry, I-think-I’m-cool-but-I’m-not-so-cool neighbor. His character derives from Larry Dallas (played by Kline) on the 70s/80s sitcom Three’s Company, concerning a straight man who rents an apartment with two straight women and is compelled to moonlight as a gay man in the presence of various out-of-touch, Old School, essentially fuckheaded (but ostensibly entertaining) landlords.

Tom Cruise (via Les Grossman) as IRA ÜBERSTEIN

As the chapter entitled SOUND & FURY DISABLED REMIX stipulates, “Ira Überstein rules the world,” i.e., he is the “producer” of the “reality show” that is “The Kyoto Man.”

He is loosely patterned after Tom Cruise’s Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder. But dirtier. And meaner. And balder. And hairier. And sweatier. And fatter.

D. Harlan Wilson is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, literary critic, screenwriter, editor, & Distinguished Professor of American Ethics, Pathology, Social Strata & Wood Tick Culture at Harvard University. DHW is the author of hundreds of thousands of stories and essays & over 80,000 books of fiction, nonfiction & antifiction, among them Codename Prague, Dr. Identity, or, Farewell to Plaquedemia, They Had Goat Heads, Peckinpah: An Ultraviolent Romance, and Technologized Desire: Selfhood & the Body in Postcapitalist Science Fiction. His writing has been translated into every language, real & fictional, alive & extinct, & he wrote the screenplay for The Cocktail Party, a short rotoscoped film based on a story in his first book, The Kafka Effekt. The Cocktail Party received extensive awards & acknowledgements including an official selection at Comic-Con.

TALKING ABOUT THE AMBASADORA SERIES

"AMBASADORA has a lot to say about the human spirit and it says it well." -MIKE RESNICK Nebula and Hugo Award-winning Author of the Santiago series

TALKING ABOUT STARRIE

"Miller’s short third novel in the space-faring, caste-bound, hierarchically polyamorous, and socially striated Ambasadora universe (after 2013’s Greenshift) manages to balance the exoticized presentation of the setting with relatable human interaction...the romance between Ben and Naela highlights the emotional side of reaching out to those who are different from you, even in a world where those differences are stylized and codified." -Publisher's Weekly

TALKING ABOUT MANY GENRES

"...a beautiful and insightful must-have book for any writer, from newbie to working pro. Highly recommended!" -JONATHAN MABERRY NYT Bestselling Author of the Joe Ledger series

TALKING ABOUT STARRIE

"STARRIE is one ripping fast book and a well told story. I loved it!" --Basil Sands, The Big Thrill

TALKING ABOUT HEIDI'S WRITING

"...a writer-crush on Heidi Ruby Miller. I mean, holy crap, this girl can write! This is how you write Science-Fiction." -CARY CAFFREY Bestselling Author of The Girls from Alcyone trilogy

TALKING ABOUT GREENSHIFT

TALKING ABOUT STARRIE

"Take authentic, straight-ahead space opera. Stir in a highly trained, kick-ass assassin on a mission of vengeance. Toss in a career soldier and watch them battle together, and grow together, as adversity piles on. Serve hot! Heidi Ruby Miller’s STARRIE serves up the perfect concoction of nonstop, take-no-prisoners SF action and romance, set against the intriguing backdrop of the brutal and dangerous world of AMBASADORA, and deftly leaves us wanting more." -Win Scott Eckert, coauthor with Philip José Farmer of The Evil in Pemberley House and author of The Scarlet Jaguar, winner of the 2014 New Pulp Award

TALKING ABOUT MARKED BY LIGHT

"Talk about an outlaw hero that is larger than life. Talk about a hero who changes worlds." -JENNA BENNET NYT Bestselling Author of The Fortune series

TALKING ABOUT HEIDI'S STORIES

TALKING ABOUT STARRIE

"With explosive action, kick-ass heroes and romance that hits all the right notes, STARRIE gives fans of science fiction romance everything they want—at a breakneck pace. Plan to stay up all night finishing this one, it’s impossible to put down!" - RHONDA MASON Author of The Empress Game